Textbook research and the pedagogical past: An outline of contemporary methodological approaches

Abstract

The paper presents two contemporary methodological approaches to the historicalpedagogical study of textbooks, based on a concept of textbooks underpinned by hermeneutics and critical theory. In the first part of the paper, a textbook is defined as a medium of socio-cultural knowledge representing an image of a given society that is in many ways filtered, restructured and controlled. The paper considers the implications of such a position for the study of the pedagogical past. The main section of the paper presents methodological guidelines for a broader understanding of textbooks based on the above-mentioned theoretical concepts. It is suggested that the study of textbooks should take into consideration its contextual determinants. This involves, on the one hand, collecting data about the processes of textbook creation, that is, about the production within which the selection, legitimization and pedagogical-didactic transformation of socio-cultural knowledge occurs, and also, on the other hand, collecting data about the processes of textbook use, i.e. the transmission and reception of knowledge. In addition, guidelines for the study of internal textbook organization are given. The conclusion of the paper highlights the importance of the approaches presented, and points to a number of thematic areas for studying the pedagogical past which are opened up through the adoption of the presented views on textbooks presented in the paper.